2 - I am working on an exciting
new educational project in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and
Preserve. Here's a shot from day 1 of the project. Stay tuned for more
info on the project . . . and on landscape photography.

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the artist within. Today.

If you need some Nik creative inspiration and
have an extra buck to spare, check out my 50+ Nik Tips for Color Efex
Pro app on My Apps page. And . . . check out my new Route 66 Gallery here on my site to see how I used several of the Nik filters. I created the image above using Nik HDR Efex Pro, and then added an border with the Image Border filter in Nik Color Efex Pro.

Rick, a special thanks once again for allowing me to share some
of my photographic passion with your audience.

Let’s try something a little different this time!

With the weather in the northern hemisphere starting to
gradually warm up, more photo opportunities start to emerge.

For many of us, finding time to shoot has to
fit around work and family commitments – so – why not combine shooting with
some of your family time? If you’re
looking for a good family fun event that also provides a great photo
experience, checkout your local air shows.

Never photographed an airshow before? No worries, these quick tips will get you up and started in no time!

It’s a fact of airshows, they almost always occur at midday
– so you just have to make due with the available lighting conditions. There are some tricks to help even up the
odds a bit.

Shoot close.
Even with aerial shots, start to zoom in closer as you become more
comfortable. Look for arrivals (morning)
and departures (evening). Most of
the aircraft will not be based at that particular airport – so they have to
arrive and leave, including aircraft that will just be on display and not
scheduled to fly. Some great
opportunities here with better light! Dusk
or night shows. Some shows will have
a special twilight or night performance the Friday before the main show. This is a great time to get creative with
some really cool shots!

Practice your panning techniques. The main show area (called “the box”) will
have most of the acts crossing right in front of you so panning is critical. Keep these tips in mind:

Panning with most things is not consistent. The apparent speed of the approaching
aircraft appears to be slow, but will quickly increase as it approaches your
center point. Prepare for this or the
plane will start to exit the front of your frame before you realize it. Once you know the direction of a run, point
your torso in the direction of the last picture you expect to make in that
series. Now turn at the waist to the
starting point. This will allow your
waist to return to a natural front-facing posture as the aircraft exits. This will also make it easier to keep up with
the apparent speed increase mentioned above.

Camera settings are pretty straight forward, but here are a
couple tips to get started: Shooting modes are a personal preference, but I’ll
shoot on shutter priority (or manual) as I want to match my shutter to the type
of aircraft (more on that in a minute) Don’t
shoot with too low of an aperture setting, especially if you are photographing
multiple aircraft at once. f/8 is my
absolute minimum and I prefer f/11.
You’ll need the depth of field. “Hold
the hammer down.” Set your camera to
continuous focus and multiple shots.

An airshow doesn’t mean all you have to shoot is
aircraft. Make sure to get some behind
the scene shots, especially of the pilots and demonstration teams. I love the expression on the Golden Knight
parachutist in the image above as he interacts with his fans!

It may not always be easy, but see about special
photographer access.

Many shows will have “photo pits” available and these are
usually located right up front at show center.
Especially at the smaller shows, inquire about any needs they may have
for event photography. It never hurts to
ask – and won’t you be surprised if you end up in air with one of the
performing acts!

Leave the plane “room to fly in to”. Just as with other types of photography, try
not to butt the subject up against the frame in the direction of its motion –
give it some space.

Make sure you have some “prop blur” on propeller driven
aircraft. A propeller that is “frozen”
makes the aircraft look frozen.

This is a hard technique to nail down as your stability and
panning technique needs to be almost perfect, but the outcome is worth the
effort.Generally speaking, some of the
smaller acrobatic planes will start to pickup some good blur around 1/500th
of a second (1/350th is better).Larger or more powerful aircraft are harder, 1/250th is
needed to begin to pickup good prop blur and 1/90th of a second will
get you that “perfect” 360 degree prop blur.The Mustang above was shot at 1/160th of a second – traveling
at over 300 MPH!

A strong sense of motion helps whenever possible, so keep
your shutter speed as low as you feel comfortable with, even on jets.The more motion you can pickup around the
aircraft (clouds, trees, buildings, other airplanes) the better your image will
appear.

Static displays.All
shows that are airport based will have plenty of aircraft on display.These are great photo opportunities and
usually include some interior opportunities – a great time for a little hand
held HDR!

Know what’s coming next, and from where.All shows will give you the radio frequency
of the “air boss” and the show teams.This allows you to know which part of the act is up next and from which
direction it will be approaching.Don’t
have a radio setup?No problem, most
shows will let you rent them for the day.

One of the things I love best about photography is the
ability to combine it with just about any other interest my family has.It’s a great way to spend time with friends
and family while still indulging your photographic gene!

This post sponsored by x-rite. X-Rite is the global leader in
color science and technology. The Company develops, manufactures, markets and
supports innovative color solutions through measurement systems,
software, color standards and services.

Thank you, Rick, for the opportunity to be a guest blogger! It's good to be here.

• • • • •

Have
you ever wanted your images to stand out? Have you ever wondered how
to light a person and get that dramatic look? One of the best ways to
answer these questions is to take that flash off your camera.

Once
you move your flash off camera, your portraits will start to pop.
Controlling the flash output and working with the ambient light (the
light around you), you will be able to create a naturally lit portrait
or a dramatic lit portrait.

To
get your flash off camera, you will need a simple radio trigger set to
fire the flash. There are many on the market, but be sure your
equipment is compatible with the radio system you choose. Now you will
need a way to hold that flash off to the side. I use two
methods--handhold the flash to the side or mount the flash on a small
light stand. Most of my speedlite portraits happen at public events.
If I know it will be very crowded with not much space to work, then I
will handhold the flash. If I know there will be a little more room,
like an outdoor event, then I will use a small light stand. The diagram
shows the basic placement of the light to camera position. It does not
matter whether it’s placed on your right or left side.

A general flash
position will be about a 45 degree angle from the camera position. For
a more dramatic effect, try a 90 degree position. The height of the
flash will vary depending on the look you are trying to achieve.

My secret formula:
I will use the camera’s evaluative meter system and underexpose up to a
stop and a half. This underexposing depends on how dramatic I want the
portrait to be with the amount of ambient light in the area. I then
set the flash on the manual setting and dial the power to reach the
f-stop and distance I want. I start with a setting of about f/5.6 for
5-6 feet. I will move the flash closer or further away from the subject
depending on how much light I need or to compensate with the background
(like when shooting on a bright sunny day and having the subject in a
very dark shadow area, you balance the light for the subject to match
the background for proper exposure).

My camera will be in the manual
setting--that way I have total control. The ISO is usually set between
100-400. The shutter and f/stop varies. I like to stay around f/2.8,
but the shutter speed is dependent on the sync of the flash, which will
help determine the f/stop. Most of these images shown are shot around
1/8th to 1/30h of a second, because I was either indoors(dimly lit) or
outdoors(night time) during an event. Shooting events at dark or
indoors is usually easier, because I’m not worried about the flash sync.
These images shown were also shot in RAW and processed with Lightroom
to tweak color, contrast and add a vignette. If you shoot faster than
the flash sync, then black bars will show up within your image, which is
actually the shutter being captured.

Lately,
I have been using the Radio Popper JrX radio triggering system. It is
easy to use and also has the ability to control your flash from camera
position (works with newer Canon and Nikon flashes). Being able to
control your flash from the camera makes it so much faster to work in
busy, crowded areas. You don’t have to move your flash back and forth
to compensate the light, just adjust the power from the transmitter on
the camera. If you want to get a little more control from your flash,
then try using a Strobies grid attachment. The Strobie grid will focus
the flash into a beam of concentrated light. I use these quite often
for macro work.

Now
here is a big tip: practice, practice, practice. Practice on family
members and get comfortable with the way your flash works in different
lighting conditions. Another tip: learn your equipment. You should
know the limitations for your camera and flash combination. Last tip:
most people are shy about going up to strangers and asking to take their
photograph. If you attend special events where people dress up, this
is an open invitation to help build confidence by approaching other
people to ask to take their picture.